Today in history：March 24

March 24
Mr Biggs returned to Brazil after the incident
1981: Biggs rescued after kidnapping
England have
Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs has been rescued by Barbados police
following his kidnapping.
The 52-year-old, on the run from UK police, was found on a yacht which had
broken down seven miles from the coast of Barbados.
The crew of the yacht, believed to be all British, were taken for
questioning.
Reports suggest Mr Biggs was taken from a bar in Rio de Janeiro on 18 March
where he was due to meet some new friends.
The men turned up and, following a brief chat, bundled Mr Biggs into a
waiting car.
From there it is believed they took him by plane to the coast where they
boarded a yacht bound for Barbados.
The kidnap is thought to be an attempt to get Mr Biggs extradited to serve
the rest of his sentence in the UK.
He has been on the run since 1965 when he escaped from Wandsworth Prison
where he was serving 30 years for his involvement in the Great Train Robbery of
1963.
The men who carried out the kidnap are reported to be members of a security
firm headed by Patrick King and John Miller.
Speaking about the kidnap Mr Miller said: "There was certainly, never at
any stage any collusion between us. It wasn"t that we wanted to bring him back
personally, it was just a job. If we hadn"t done it someone else certainly would
have."
Asked about the suggestion the whole thing was staged Mr Miller said:
"Ronnie Biggs never agreed to come with us. All I want to do now is get the guys
out of jail and get them back home. We have no intention of selling the story to
the press."
Britain and Brazil are both fighting to have Mr Biggs returned to their
shores when he is released from questioning.
Former Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper, the man who led the initial
hunt for Mr Biggs said: "I would have liked him to come back under his own steam
or under some other legal method."
The view from Ranger 9 about three seconds before impact (picture:
Nasa)
1965: Millions watch space probe crash into Moon
Artificially 1969:
The Divers have raised the wreck of Donald Campbell"s boat, Bluebird, from
the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria.
The boat had lain there since the accident in 1967 which killed Campbell,
46, as he attempted to break the world water speed record.
The craft was winched to the surface after a three-hour operation to tow it
to the lakeside from its resting place, 150 feet (45 metres) below the surface
of the lake.
The quest to raise the boat was led by diver Bill Smith.
Mr Smith said he was glad they had reached the boat as there was always the
risk that less scrupulous souvenir hunters could get there first.
"You can see now she"s in a remarkable state of preservation and she"ll not
rot away to nothing now, she can be kept this way," he said.
A crowd of more than 50 people gathered at the shore and saw the tail of
Bluebird, emblazoned with a Union Jack, float to the surface aided by four
orange air bags.
Campbell"s widow Tonia Bern-Campbell flew from her home in America to
witness the occasion.
Donald Campbell was trying to break his own water speed record of 276mph
(429.87 km/h) on 4 January 1967, when the boat vaulted from the lake"s
surface.
It somersaulted repeatedly before crashing and sinking.
His body was never found and no remains have been discovered in the
wreckage.
The Bluebird was discovered by enthusiasts late last year after a four-year
hunt.
There were reportedly divisions among Campbell"s family over whether it
should be raised from its resting place.
Some family members wanted it left as a memorial to him.
The future of Bluebird is yet to be decided but she could be restored and
put on display as a tribute to Donald Campbell.
Vocabulary:
winch: to pull by a winch(绞车把...拉起来)